The FDA Thinks There “May Be” Some Products That Add CBD to Food – What Are They Gonna Do About It?

Last week, the FDA made yet another effort to clarify the status of CBD under federal law with a “What you need to know” webpage. The FDA continues to state that, aside from Epidiolex, it “has not approved any other CBD products.” Yet, the FDA acknowledges, in what may be the understatement of the century, that “we are aware that there may be some products on the market that add CBD to a food.” You think? Square that acknowledgment with the fact that, according to the Washington Post, more than 1,000 CBD-infused products are now available online, or with Carl's Jr. rolling out a CBD-infused special sauce burger in Denver for 4/20 Day. 

While the FDA goes through its process and tries to figure out what to do about CBD, the industry isn’t waiting around. It seems like the feds are going to have a lot of catching up to do. But as regulations do roll out, eventually, this could change the enforcement landscape. A broad prohibition simply can’t be meaningfully enforced since the number of violations is astronomical, but more tailored regulations by the FDA could prove easier to enforce, depending on what they look like. For now, we’ll keep monitoring.